“What Excuse do you have?”
BIBLE REFERENCE:
“But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 10:33;
WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT:
This week as I was listening to my weekly Bible teachers, one of my favorite pastors whom I respect as much if not more that most of the Bible teachers of today, hit me with a message I felt I needed to expand on. His teachings always includes multiple messages, but one topic that he hit on today was “the excuses that people have for not attending church on a regular basis.” I am going to share the top eight reasons, but in my words as I understood them.
Here are eight examples of excuses that ordinary people say is the reason for not attending church, but these excuses don’t apply when attending sporting events.
Number one excuse; “I don’t like to go to church because they always ask for money,” but yet they will spend hundreds of dollars at a football game, baseball game or basketball game to support over paid athletes instead of using your God given gifts (money) to glorify God. God has blessed us with everything that we have including every penny we own. All He asks for is 10% back in the form of tithing. Sporting events are not included in that tithing. Malachi 3:8-12; “Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 2 Corinthians 9:6-11; “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Most of us are investing in the pleasures of this world when we should be investing in our eternal salvation.
Number two excuse; “the people that I sit by aren’t very friendly.” I don’t see people punching each other and wrestling with each other while they are sitting in the seats of fellowship, where I often see many fights break out at many sporting events. Maybe if they aren’t friendly at church, it’s because you aren’t very friendly yourself. The way to make friends is to be friendly. Most churches that I have visited, the people are generally friendly if you reach out to them. However, I have been in churches where they strut around like they are above everyone else. If that is the case, please do not judge they rest of the Body of Christ because of the few that have their nose stuck high in the sky. God will judge these people accordingly. Romans 12:16; “Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.” God hates pride and He will deal with those that feel that they are more righteous than others. In God’s eyes we are all the equal.
Number Three Excuse; “the seats are too hard and uncomfortable.” Really? Have you ever been to a sporting event where you sat in the seats called general admission? Bleachers? If you can sit in those seats for four to five hours, then you can sit in a church pew for an hour or two. Besides, most churches of today have very comfortable padded seats so this is not an acceptable excuse at all.
Number Four Excuse; “the pastor never acknowledges me.” Have you ever been to a sporting event where one of the coaches on the playing field would come up to you and take time to introduce himself to you? …not likely, unless you already knew him personally, but yet that doesn’t bother you. Pastors, often have hundreds of people in their congregation to the point where they cannot always get out and mingle like they would like to. So, instead of waiting for the pastor to single you out, how about you going up to the pastor and introduce yourself to him. In the same manner, we should all reach out to Jesus Christ and introduce ourselves to Him as well, when we do He will reach out to us and draw us in to His family where you will be forever in His presence. What a wonderful gift that is available just for the asking.
Number Five Excuse; “I don’t always agree with what the pastor is teaching.” Welcome to humanity, none of us are perfect. If you ever find the perfect church, you better not go in because then it will no longer be perfect. When watching sporting events, the official, umpires or referees always make calls that we don’t agree with, but we still keep going, don’t we. We will very seldom agree with everything that the pastors teach, but if you belong to a church that teaches through the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter and book by book, you will get a very good understand about the true Word of God. When you listen to a sermon and there is something that you question, it is then up to you to search the scriptures yourself to find out if what the pastor said is true. We read in Acts 17:11 where we are instructed to do just that. “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” Salvation is in your hands, not the hands of someone else. If you are putting your salvation in the hands of any religion, church, pastor or priest, you are a fool. In this world, we can trust very few people, and to trust someone with your salvation is the most dangerous and foolish thing that we can do this side of heaven.
Number Six Excuse; “I don’t like it when the sermons seem to carry on forever,” but yet we will sit and watch a sporting event that could go into many overtimes, and that doesn’t seem to bother anyone. If you feel you can get too much teaching of Jesus Christ, then you might as well stay home, because your heart is not in it to start with. If you do not enjoy fellowshipping with like-minded Christians, then there is no way that you are part of the Body of Christ. It only makes sense…right? Would you despise your arm and favor your leg knowing that it is the part of your body that makes up the whole. Of course not! So, why would you despise a fellow Brother or Sister in Christ? 1 John 4:20; “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loves not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” 1 Peter 3:8; “Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:”
Number Seven Excuse; “my parents forced me to go to church when I was young,” so I am burnt out and now that I can make my own decision, so I decided not to attend any church. When we were young and our parents took us to a football game or some other events again and again, no matter how many times that we went, it didn’t seem to have any bearing on continuing to attend these events. Not a good excuse at all!
Number Eight Excuse; “my kids need to make up their own minds what they want to believe.” Hogwash, this is one of the biggest issues facing our world today! Parents today will say, “I can’t force them to believe what I do, I’ll let them decide for themselves what they want to believe.” We don’t seem to mind bringing them up liking a certain sports team or entertainer. We will bring them up to like what we like unless it is religious, so they are in a sense “a chip off the old block”. The absolute worst excuse of today! The death of the family as we knew it for the last 250 years or so. Proverbs 22:6; “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” This is not a suggestion, it is a command from the God of the Universe. You will be held accountable for how you raised your child. CONCLUDING THOUGHTS:
When I use the word excuse, that is exactly what it is, just an excuse. If there are underlying conditions that prohibit you from being able to attend a church, then you have a real reason why you can’t go, it is then just not an excuse. Know this, when you stand before Jesus Christ at the “White Throne Judgement” where you will be judged for every sin that you ever committed, unless you have been born-again into the Holy Spirit, you will have no excuse. No matter what you say, it will not hold up in the presence of Jesus Christ, you will be sentence to eternity in the “Lake of Burning Fire” forever, because that is where you chose to go. Consider this, when you get picked up for violating the law, does ignorance of the law hold up, not that I’ve seen, so why would a Holy God accept any excuses when He did everything that He could to redeem mankind. He paid the price for your sins when He willingly went to the cross and paid for the sins of the world and all you have to do is receive the free gift of grace through faith, be born-again into the Holy Spirit and believe on Jesus Christ and serve Him the rest of your remaining days here on earth. With all the signs of the end times hitting us at an alarming rate, those days could be short. Stop making excuses and get to a good Bible believing church and get to know the one who loves you more than you can imagine, Jesus Christ is His name and you will one day meet Him. Grace and Peace be with you now and forever. “Written To the extreme glory of God, and Inspired by the Holy Spirit!” Amen!
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